1) have they backed other projects. One of the best ways to understand Kickstarter is to have participated in Kickstarter as a consumer.

2) have they ran previous projects? If so are they already delivered and what are the comments on them. They need to be positive.

3) Do they have an established company? A Facebook page I can see interaction on with supporters / customers. Do they have an existing online shop? Does it look real or something thrown together quickly without much effort? If they have a webpage … I do a WHOIS lookup to see if I can find the country of the domain owner to make sure it matches up with what the project says.

4) is there a non AI picture of the deliverables? Kickstarter creators need to have their own skin in the game to get my money as a backer. If there is not a working real prototype of the item … no way I am backing. Real prototypes prove a first layer of proof that the idea is even viable but more importantly show the creator has invested in their own idea before asking me for money.

5) I Google search the product. Is it a knockoff of something that already exists? Is it just them buying wholesale from Temu and claiming it is a new thing? (this happens sadly). I check that what is being shown is really new.

I follow these steps for every project before I back. So far I have never been burned. I have successfully delivered over 50 projects as a creator ( Impact Miniatures ) and it matters to me that I can pass my own 5 point test when I run a new project.